A Street Kid’s Guide

(How to get from here to there)

It’s hard to get from here to there

If you never get out of bed.

You lie a lot to fool your friends

But you fooled yourself instead.

It’s harder to get from here to there

If you set your goals too high;

Then nothing ever works out right;

Too soon, you no longer try.

But the hardest way to get from here to there

Is when all you ever do

Is count up the years, and miles to go.

Then you’re through before you’re through.

So how do you get from here to there?

Well, you first must believe you can

Let no one tell you differently —

It’s your life and it’s in your hands.

Then turn your dreams into your goals

And see what you need now

To satisfy the requirements:

The why, the where and how.

At first you’re overwhelmed, of course;

There is so much you don’t know.

But keep your faith, be strong and sure,

For you do have a way to go.

Take careful steps and do them right,

Take pride in each thing done.

Don’t look too far ahead of yourself,

Just that next step yet to come.

Before you know it you’ll be there, friend,

Your dream will then be real.

And you’ll be standing where I am now,

Telling others how good it feels.

You’ll tell them not to quit themselves,

To have faith, though it’s hard to bear.

So they will know it can be done —

They, too, can get from here to there.

Jennings Michael Burch

Note: This poem was written by a person who was brought up in foster homes, did not even finish high school but succeeded on the basis of his own efforts. He wrote his autobiography “They Cage the Animals at Night”. Maybe a word here or a line there that might help you get through a rough time. I hope so…

Taken from the “Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul II “.